The final stage of the road to the 2026 FIP World Cup will take place in Kuwait from October 26 to 30, where national teams from Asia and Africa will compete for the last remaining qualification spots. Hosted at the Padel In Club in collaboration with BNK, this tournament will determine the final participants for the main event in Doha, Qatar, scheduled for November 2 to 7.
Tournament Stakes and Qualification Status
The upcoming Kuwait qualifiers serve as the final opportunity for nations to secure their entry into the 32-team World Cup field, which consists of 16 men’s and 16 women’s squads. This event follows a series of regional qualifiers held throughout the year, including tournaments in Toronto and Asuncion, as well as the European qualifiers currently underway in Madrid.
The tournament structure and current field are defined by the following breakdown of qualification paths:
- The Kuwait Qualifier: This event will award exactly one men’s spot and one women’s spot for the final tournament in Doha, effectively closing the qualification window.
- Automatic and Merit-Based Entries: Ten of the total spots were allocated based on the final standings of the 2024 FIP World Padel Championship, which included the top nine finishers and the host nation, Qatar.
- American Qualifier Successes: Several nations have already punched their tickets through the Americas qualifiers, including the United States (men and women), Mexico (men), Paraguay (men and women), and Chile (women).
- Current Men’s Qualified Field: The teams already confirmed for the men’s draw include Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, France, Chile, Sweden, Qatar, the USA, Mexico, and Paraguay.
- Current Women’s Qualified Field: The teams already confirmed for the women’s draw include Spain, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Brazil, Belgium, Qatar, the USA, Paraguay, and Chile.
With the European qualifiers concluding on September 26, the focus shifts entirely to Kuwait, where the final pieces of the 2026 FIP World Cup puzzle will be put into place before the action moves to Qatar in early November.
